Planning Communication

During business transformations like the 4S project, a broad range of different stakeholder groups must be provided with information throughout the project duration. An important prerequisite for effective change communication is an overview of the existing communication channels. The communication channel analysis covers both existing media (for example intranet, newsletters, blogs, and notice boards) and the current meeting structure.

After the communication channels have been identified, their respective strengths and weaknesses are evaluated. Based on this evaluation, suitable channels for the change communication can be determined. Using already existing channels for the change communication reduces costs and effort. Nevertheless, it can be necessary to establish new communication channels. This usually requires additional effort but helps to draw attention to the communicated content.

Acting as a professional change manager requires learning from your own experiences during business transformations. Of course, the preferred way to receive project-related information differs from person to person. Nevertheless, stepping into the shoes of the impacted users can help select suitable communication channels.

Take five minutes to complete exercise 17 in your workbook.

As a communication and marketing expert at THE URBAN CYCLIST, Paul already has a good overview of the existing communication channels at this subsidiary. However, 4S comprises all three subsidiaries so Paul must also collect information about BriscoBikes and veloREBELZ!. He has already conducted an initial exchange with his peers at BriscoBikes and veloREBELZ!. At the same time, Sandra has collected initial information about overarching communication channels across the three subsidiaries.

In a call, they exchange their first insights. Play the video below to see what Sandra and Paul found out.

The following chart shows you the first communication channels Sandra has documented.

Sandra and Paul continue their data collection and document all relevant communication channels in the provided template. They differentiate between company-wide channels and channels specific to the different subsidiaries. In these categories, they cluster the channels according to their type (for example digital, face-to-face, and paper-based). This enables them to easily find the required information when developing the 4S project communication plan.

After completing the communication channel analysis, the next task for Sandra and Paul is to assess and document the communication needs of the different stakeholder groups impacted by the 4S project. These needs can vary significantly, depending on the current knowledge of the 4S project, the expected impacts of the project, and previous experiences with similar business transformations.

Identifying the stakeholder-specific communication needs helps to tailor-fit the information to be provided. This avoids both information deficits and information overload. In addition, knowing the communication needs of the different stakeholder groups allows decisions for the appropriate channel to convey the required information. Furthermore, the documented communication needs set the baseline for evaluating the impact of conducted communication activities. Hence, they help to identify any communication gaps and guide the definition of follow-up measures.

Sandra and Paul decided to start with the communication needs analysis for the BriscoBikes subsidiary. Together with the BriscoBikes Holding, this subsidiary is in the scope of the first rollout wave. Paul already had an initial exchange with Lucy Sheng to collect required input for the Finance Operations team and the BriscoBikes leadership team, comprising all level 2 managers. The chart below shows the BriscoBikes organization, highlighting the two stakeholder groups in blue.

After the exchange with Lucy, Paul documented all insights in a template Sandra had provided and sent the results to Lucy for review and feedback. For an overview of the communication needs analysis template and Paul’s resulting documentation, examine the following chart.

As Lucy has some comments and questions regarding the communication needs analysis, she scheduled a short call with Paul. The following video shows their conversation.

Especially in companies with little or no previous experience with organizational change management, it is sometimes necessary to explain the approach and the added value of change management activities. Try to support Paul and suggest answers to Lucy’s questions.

Take 10 minutes to complete exercise 18 in your workbook.

Paul sends Sandra a meeting request to reflect his call with Lucy and ask for her advice.

The communication plan is the foundation of an effective and stakeholder-specific change communication throughout the 4S project. Planning the intended communication activities allows to detect interrelationships between different activities and to synchronize them, regarding both the timing and the content. This helps to provide the right message to the right people at the right time.

Thus, a professional change communication contributes to reduce uncertainty and resistance among impacted users, and to enhance both motivation and user adoption. Planning all communication activities well in advance ensures that the necessary resources for producing the content and delivering the activities are available.

Sandra and Paul have established a good overview of the existing communication channels and the communication needs of the different stakeholder groups. Now, they can start developing a communication plan for the 4S project.

The communication activities should encompass a wide variety of approaches, such as push channels (like newsletters or e-mails) versus pull media (like the 4S project site in the corporate intranet), and traditional versus digital media. In addition, along with providing information, it is important to encourage and facilitate dialogue and engagement.

Sandra and Paul decide to differentiate between communication activities targeting the entire BriscoBikes Holding and stakeholder-specific activities for the different subsidiaries.

Observe their conversation in the video below.

The following chart shows how Sandra documents cross-company communication activities in the communication plan.

Planning stakeholder-specific communication activities is a key task for change managers. It requires input from several activities, such as the stakeholder identification, the communication channel and needs analysis, and the change story. Now, it is up to you to develop some communication activities for the 4S project.

Take 10 minutes to complete exercise 19 in your workbook.

Paul sends Sandra a meeting request to reflect his ideas for the general and stakeholder specific communication activities. Listen to their discussion in the following video.